Clean Air 2 – clean air interactive game as a tool for clean environment Erasmus Project

Project Title

Clean Air 2 – clean air interactive game as a tool for clean environment

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Environment and climate change; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Pedagogy and didactics

Project Summary

Although air quality in Europe has improved over the last decade, there are still many places where concentrations of such pollutants as particulate matter (PM) or benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) significantly exceed WHO guidelines and EU norms. Pollution with PM2,5 only was responsible for 374 000 premature deaths in EU-28 countries in 2015. In countries as Poland, air pollution kills each year over 10 times more people than all road accidents. In 2017 as many as 17 countries registered PM10 concentrations above the EU norm. The situation is the most serious in hot-spot areas. For example, in many Polish cities concentration of benzo[a]pyrene exceeds the EU norm around 10 times. [1]
As research shows, air pollution is not only a problem of large urban populations. Air within rural regions is often even more polluted, especially in the heating season. This in particular relates to such pollutants as PM and carcinogenic BaP or dioxins – as they are released when coal, wood or waste is burned in household heating appliances. [2]
One of the worst air pollution hot spots in Europe covers CEE countries, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania and Romania, i.e. countries of project leaders and partners. Localities from these countries top all rankings of air pollution with PMs or benzo[a]pyrene in Europe . Although air quality in Spain is in general better than in Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic or Romania, Lithuania there are many areas which also suffer from excessive air pollution with particulate matter and benzo[a]pyrene.
Health effects of long term exposure to high particulate matter and benzo[a]pyrene concentrations range from respiratory diseases (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis), through cardiovascular diseases (heart attack, hypertension, arrhythmia, cardiac insufficiency) and diseases of the nervous system (brain stroke, depression, anxiety, Alzheimer) to different types of cancer.
The main reason behind high pollution levels in CEE is reliance on solid fuels (coal, wood) for heating. The household sector constitutes the largest single source of PM10 and B[a]P emissions in the analysed countries. The table below presents its share for respective countries. In Spain, residential heating with wood accounts for nearly half of particulate matter emissions. Biomass consumption in Spain increased by 27% since 2000.
Czech Republic Poland Romania Slovakia Spain Lithuania
PM10 38% 52% 74% 83% 43% 55%
BaP 87% 87% 63% 84% n.a. 77%
Source: Informative Inventory Reports for each country prepared under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution
A large portion of households in these countries continue using sold fuels (coal and wood) for space heating. In Poland alone the number of single family houses using coal and wood for heating exceeds 4 million buildings. Low quality coal and wood remain the cheapest source of heat energy. They are often mixed with waste, which significantly aggravates the problem and health effects.
Transnational approach
As the problem of air pollution concerns all EU countries it requires applying a transnational approach including, cooperation between the countries, experience sharing and development of joint measures. Not only because the sources of air pollution and required solutions to the problem are similar, but also because air pollution has a strong transboundary character. Project partners come mainly from one of the most serious European hot spots, i.e. CEE area. Participation of Spain will allow for diffusion of project products and results to other parts of the EU, beyond CEE.
Objectives, target groups and needs
The objective of this project is to raise awareness in the countries covered by the project about the problem of air pollution, its reasons, health effects and possible solutions that can be taken by inhabitants in order to mitigate the problem and reduce local air pollution. This objective will be achieved by providing training for teachers in the topic of air pollution and equipping them with innovative, interactive education materials that they will use to teach their pupils and students about the problem. One of the main project outputs will be the game. This is the response to the feedback from the previous project realised by the consortium. The teachers taking part in the pilot testing in all the countries suggested that the interactive game would be a great tool to teach about air pollution. Recent reports in Poland show that 92.7% of respondents declared that in their future work will use computer games. [3]
1.Air Quality in Europe – 2019 Report, European Environment Agency, 2019
2.See for example: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-QOsHuWI0UhcldwYi1fUVd4M0E/view?usp=sharing and http://polskialarmsmogowy
3. https://depot.ceon.pl

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 288057 Eur

Project Coordinator

STOWARZYSZENIE KRAKOWSKI ALARM SMOGOWY & Country: PL

Project Partners

• STOWARZYSZENIE ARID
• DIPUTACION PROVINCIAL DE GRANADA
• CPIP-COMUNITATEA PENTRU INVATAREA PERMANENTA
• New Edu,n.o
• KAUNO TECHNOLOGIJOS UNIVERSITETAS
• Ciste nebe o.p.s.